Interesting and Educational Videos About Emeralds

Some interesting and educational videos to watch about Emeralds, one of the most fantastic gemstones in the world.


 



 

Using A Gemstone Refractometer

My birthday is next month, and I am going to buy one of these gemstone refractometers. Maybe not the specific one shown, but one no less. I have been wanting one for a few years now. I have a loupe, dichroscope, and chelsea filter already. I also have a microscope but it is not great for gemstones, but it is helpful. I have so many loose stones that I have no idea what they are, and a few that I am sure are quite valuable stones. The video will show you how to use your refractometer, though if I remember correctly he should have closed the top of the machine not left it open.

Identifying Your Gemstones

A lot of people, like me, collect gemstones. Then after we get a bunch, we think now what should I do with these? Some people resell, make jewelry, learn to identify them, or just love collecting them. I decided I wanted to make jewelry, and learn to identify my gemstones. I also collect, and give them as gifts, as well. Last year I purchase three gemstone tools, to help me learn to identify my stones. Now I must say just having the tools, with no reading knowledge really is not helpful at all. I purchased Gemstone Identification Made Easy, and it was so helpful. I have the dichroscope, 10x loupe, and chelsea filter. The loupe is very explanatory, and simple to use. I must say though, it takes a very long time, to learn, and recognize any inclusions that help identify stones. I find it more useful for finding chips, cracks, and other flaws. The chelsea filter, though easy to use, again is only really useful for identifying a small number of stones. The dichroscope however, is very useful, and is simple to use once you get used to what you are seeing. I personally recommend you have a large number of lose stones, with some you already know what they are, to properly learn what you are seeing. The dichroscope has two small windows in it, when you look through the eye piece. The basic of it is, if you see the exact same color, or combo of colors in both windows, then it is a single refractive gemstone. If you see one color, or set of colors, in one window, and another tone or hue, or completely different color in the other box, then it is doubly refractive. I was confused at first, because I would see two colors in both windows, and because there was two colors I thought it was doubly refractive. Not true, if it is the same exact color combo, like orange/red, in both windows, it is single refractive. Look at it like looking in the mirror. If it matches exactly then it is single. Then you have to rotate the dichroscope, not the stone, to see if there is any new color that appears, or change in tone or hue, of colors from the first set of colors. If you see a second color, then it shows dichroism, if you see three colors then it is called trichroism. So how does all this info, help identify your gems? Because, there are only a very few number of gems that are singly refracting, and they are diamonds, garnet, spinel, glass, and plastic. So you can see how quickly you could eliminate a whole bunch of gems, if it is a single refracting stone. Once you have mastered the dichroscope you can simply sort your stones by single refracting, and double refracting, then if you have a refractometer, you can narrow it down to almost completely knowing what you have. I do not have a refractometer yet, but I intend to purchase one this year.

Tomorrow I am doing an interesting post on Tanzanite, and Zoisite, which was spawned by a yellow stone with trichroism, that I found in a recent parcel I purchased. Be sure to check back to read it.

So far I only have one entry to win the lovely necklace, posted at the top of this blog. Be sure to check it out, and get your entry in. How often do you get to win beautiful, free jewelry? You have nothing to lose.

How To Tell If Tanzanite Has Been Heated

According to my new book, Gemstone Identification Made Easy, there is a fairly simple way to tell if your Tanzanite is natural in color, or has been heat treated. Most Tanzanite comes out of the ground, brown or green color, and then is heat treated to get the various bluish purple colored gemstones. However some Tanzanite comes out of the ground those colors, naturally. Of course these gemstones would have a much greater value, than the heated variety. Plus you may be being charged too much for a stone being sold as natural, when in fact it has been heat treated. The use of a dichroscope, can help you in determining if your stone has been treated or not. Tanzanite is a trichoic gemstone, meaning it shows three different distinct colors. When looking through a dichroscope, you will see three distint different colors. Natural, unheated Tanzanite will show blue, purple, and green. Sometimes the purple color will be reddish, and sometimes yellow instead of green. However the important thing is that you will three distinctive different colors in unheated Tanzanite. The green, yellow coloring is very often not seen in heated Tanzanite. If you view through your dichroscope your Tanzanite, and you see blue, purple, and green chances are good that you have gotten an unheated, natural Tanzanite. Congrats to you, if you have such a rare, and fabulously valuable Tanzanite in your collection.

Identify Up To 85% Of Gemstones

Ok the very first thing I learned from my new book, Gemstone Identification Made Easy, is that you can identify up to 85% of gemstones with these three tools: Dichroscope, 10X Loupe, and the Chelsea Filter. I have ordered these three tools, and they will be my Mothers Day gift this year. I also want a Refractometer, and Ultraviolet Light, but they will have to wait. I have a microscope, but it is not a jewelers microscope, which are more handy for identifying gemtsones. Anyway I want to talk about the 10X Loupe. Of course I am sure everyone who does jewelry, knows about this instrument. It is simply a magnifier with 10 times the power. They come in other powers, but this is the one most widely used. It lets you see into the gemstone, to see inclusions, cracks, scratches, cleavage etc. It does take some practice to get used to knowing what you are seeing, and a dark field 10X loupe is even better. One very important thing I learned, that I did not know before, is that you should never buy a 10X loupe in any other color than black. I am sure you have seen pretty gold, chrome, red, blue, and even green loupes. I was curious to know why, as the book did not detail, so I did a little research. I found out that they black casing loupe will prevent reflections. The other colored loupes can interfere with colors, and can lead to mistakes when identifying your stones. This is a necessary tool, for anyone who wishes to identify gemstones, and they are pretty affordable. Most you can get for less than 50 dollars.

Blue Star Sapphire Ring

This is one of my favorite rings ever. I am not sure if I want to sell it, or keep it. It is a blue star sapphire, of excellent quality. The star is equal, and the legs go all the way to the bottom of the cabachon. It is set in sterling silver, and is a size 6. Star Sapphires can be both natural, enhanced, or synthetic. One of the most famous synthetic star sapphire is the Lindy Star Sapphire. You can tell a Lindy Star from a fraud because it will have a L engraved into the back of the stone. This ring setting has a fancy filigree design to it. This star sapphire was sold to me as natural in color, with no treatments. It is a 7mmx5mm oval. One more way of telling if your star sapphire is synthetic or natural, is if the star stays exactly in the middle and never moves. The star should shift with movement of the gemstone.

Tools Used For Gemstone Identification

Today I am going to post, about my Xmas wish list. A set of tools to help identify gemstones. I am saving my pennies, and hopefully will save enough, to get the set for Christmas. Why identify your gemstones? Well, if you buy parcels of gemstones, very often, they are not identified. You can sort of figure out, what some of them are, but if you sell you have to be sure to tell buyers that the stone has not been officially identified. Also if you buy stones, from like Ebay, or other websites, and you are unsure whether, the stone has been misrepresented, these tools will help you identify if the stone is actually what they said, or even a simulant or synthetic. These are the tools I want to get:

1- Refractometer, with RI fluid- In my opinion this is the most important tool you can own, if you want to identify gemstones. It will test and show the refractive index, of the stone. Once you know the refractive index, you can refer to your resource books, and decide which stones fit under that RI. Each stone has a very specific RI.

2- Microscope- Now there are very expensive gemstone microscopes, on the market, and I mean expensive. We do already own a microscope, that we use for homeschooling, and it doubles for me to examine gemstones. I paid maybe 25 dollars for it at Walmart. Each gemstone, has a fingerprint if you will, internal characteristics, seeing them under the microscope will allow you to identify your gemstones. You will need a resource book, to tell you what the characterisitcs are, for each stone. I will be getting Gemstone Identification Made Easy, I do not yet own this book, that is why it makes this list.

3- Handheld Polariscope, now it doesnt technically have to be handheld, but it does make it easier to handle. This tool is used to show if a gemstone is single or doubley refractive. It is used mostly to identify diamond simulants, that are usually doubly refractive, where a genuine diamond is singly refractive.

4- 10x Loupe- No I cant believe I do not yet own one of these. They are not that expensive, but because I have a magnifying glass, and the microscope, I just never bought one. It really is an essential tool though.

5- Calcite Dichroscope- Dichroscope show whether or not a stone is dichroic (reflects 2 colors). I personally dont think this instrument is all that useful, given the price charged for it, but it is one of the tools listed.

6- Spectroscope- Another tool, that I dont personally identify, as a need, but it is listed on the tools list. A handheld spectroscope for visible light shows the absorption lines of the elements involved in producing its color. For instance, it helps to separate ruby (chrome) against red or pink sapphire (iron).

7- Chelsea Filter- This tool is used mostly in identifying genuine Emeralds, from fakes, synthetics, and doublets. It can be used with other colored gemstones as well.

So those are the more common tools, needed to identify your gemstones. They are very expensive, and can sometimes be purchased in packages.